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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · wave · roll · field · date · foot · mark · nail

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. field — farmland
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. shower — to wash
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — a cake
  12. mark — a grade
  13. shower — rain
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. foot — a measure
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. field — for sport
  24. roll — on a roll

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com